The restoration of the house of
Israel to its former relationship and favor with the Almighty as prophesied in
the Bible is connected with the promise of a divinely appointed book.David’s thankful praise and prediction that
God would bring back “the captivity of Jacob” is attended with this prophecy:
“Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from
heaven” (Ps 85:11).Since the Bible
reveals that the return of Israel from its captivity occurs in the last days
(Jer 30:24), the promised ascent of truth from the earth attended with the
descent of righteousness from heaven must also occur in the last days.

God sent the Hebrew nation into
captivity because their sins eventually polluted the Promised Land into which
He had led them.The northern kingdom,
called Israel, Ephraim and Samaria by Biblical writers, fell to the Assyrians
during a series of invasions that extended from 744 BC, when the land given by
Moses to Manasseh and Gad fell, to 719, when the Assyrians conquered the rest
of the ten tribes, exiling them near the Caspian Sea.The southern kingdom, called Judah, fell to the Babylonians in
588 BC when Nebucadnezzar captured Jerusalem, razed the Temple, and executed
King Zedekiah’s sons before leading the dethroned monarch, whom he had made
blind, to captivity in Babylon.After
Zedekiah, no descendant of David has yet to rule over the tribe of Judah.Isaiah prophesied these events when he said,
“Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let
them kill sacrifices.Yet I will
distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto
me as Ariel.And I will camp against
thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will
raise forts against thee.And thou
shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall
be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar
spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust” (Is
29:1-4).The city in which David dwelt
and which housed the Temple in which the Spirit of God had burned was destroyed
by Nebucadnezzar after the Babylonian siege.Nevertheless, God promised that it would speak out of the dust.Latter Day Saints believe that the cited
speech contains the truth promised by David to spring from the earth.

The Book of Mormon teaches that a
male child of Zedekiah’s, named Mulek, escaped from Jerusalem and eventually
joined the Jewish immigrants in America.Mulek in Hebrew means belonging to the king.Mulek was not considered a son at the time
of the Babylonian conquest because he was not weaned.The Bible states that an unweaned male infant was not considered
a son (Num 31:17; Deut 20:13-14).Mulek’s
descendants and followers, although the most numerous among the Jewish peoples
that the Book of Mormon says also migrated from Jerusalem, never ruled the
people in Central America, fulfilling the Biblical prophecies.The nation that these Jewish people formed
eventually perished, but its sacred record containing God’s dealings with them,
did not.It lie buried in the dusty
earth to spring forth in these last days and speak truth to latter-day Israel
just as if its writers had appeared from the dead.Mormon, who compiled the book, closes his record with a direct
appeal to those who will be given his words, saying, “Behold, I speak unto you
as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words” (Mor
4:96).His words help fulfill Isaiah’s
promise that a voice speaking from the dust will be “as one having a familiar
spirit, out of the ground.”

God revealed through Habakkuk that a
vision recorded on tablets would wait until the last days to be revealed.It would not be a lie, but reveal God’s
truth.The prophecy says, “Write the
vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.For the vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it;
because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Hab 2:2-3).The Bible reveals that the words of the
tablet will be given to both an educated man and an unlearned one.Isaiah prophesied, “And the vision of all is
become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one
that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it
is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read
this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned” (Is 29:11-12).Martin Harris, one scribe for Joseph Smith
during the translation of the Book of Mormon, took a copy of some characters on
the plates to Professor Anton of New York.He opposed the translation because of its miraculous disclosure.On the other hand, Joseph, who was
uneducated, completed it.This event
fulfilled another part of Isaiah’s prophesy.

God promised that the restoration of
the house of Israel would begin with the tribe of Ephraim.Through Jeremiah, God revealed, “I am a
father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Hear the
word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say,
He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his
flock” (Jer 31:9-10).A reasonable
conclusion is that descendants of Ephraim will be the ones to whom the book is
revealed.Ezekiel confirms that
conclusion.He prophesied that Israel,
although apparently only dried bones, would rise and live (Ez 37:1-14).The means of their restoration entailed
writings placed on two sticks.The
prophecy says, “Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon
it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another
stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the
house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick;
and they shall become one in thine hand.And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt
thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of
Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows,
and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one
stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their
eyes.And say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen,
whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into
their own land” (Ez 37:16-21).

Ezekiel prophesied that two sticks
will be joined in the hand of Ephraim, the first tribe in the latter-day
gathering of Israel.One stick has
writings for Judah and the other has writings for Joseph.What are those two sticks?

During the time of the prophets,
books were not bound in volumes as done today, but rolled around sticks to form
scrolls.One interpretation is that
Ezekiel’s sticks refer to two books, one of Judah and one of Joseph.The Bible is a record of the Jews and is “of
Judah.”The most prominent is the King
James Version, authorized by James I of England, who believed that his
coronation united the house of Jacob.[i]The King James Bible was the primary, if not the only, version of the
Bible used in nineteenth century America.On the other hand, the Book of Mormon claims to be written by
descendants of Manasseh, the oldest son of Joseph and is “of Joseph.”The publication of the Book of Mormon
brought the Bible and the Book of Mormon, or the stick of Judah and the stick
of Joseph, together.Since most of the
early members of the restored church, especially its leaders such as Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdrey, were descendants of the Angles who participated with
the Saxons in the invasion of the British Isles and were descendants of Ephraim[ii], the union of the Bible and the
Book of Mormon in their hands fulfill Ezekiel’s prophecy.Both the record of the Jews and the record
of Joseph were joined in the hand of Ephraim.

Others claim that the two sticks
refer to standards or nations around which people rally.During the days of Moses the Hebrews marched
through the wilderness in an ordered procession of tribes.When they rested, they gathered by tribes
underneath their tribal standard (Num 2:2-25).The standard for Judah contained a lion.John revealed that the Lion of Judah is the Lamb of God.His vision states, “The Lion of the tribe of
Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the
seven seals thereof.And I beheld, and,
lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the
elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain” (Rev 5:5-6).The Bible records the efforts Jesus, the
Lamb of God, made among the tribe of Judah to bring about the redemption of all
mankind by his passion on the cross.Jesus is the standard to which all are called to gather.The standard of Judah refers to the Savior’s
message of salvation, especially as recorded in the Bible.

Jesus’ announcement of his gospel is
written on another standard.His
ministry included the declaration of the Father’s name.In his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane,
Jesus concluded with these words: “Righteous Father, the world hath not known
thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.And I have declared unto them thy name, and
will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and
I in them” (Jn 17:25-26).The early
Christians taught that the Father’s name was Jesus Christ.[iii]Jesus told the woman at the well that he was Jesus, the Christ (Jn
4:26).He told the same thing to the
Jews (Jn 8:24, 28).His question to
Peter revealed his Messiahship to his disciples (Matt 16:15-16), which he
confirmed in their presence shortly before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion
(Jn 14:10-11).The Bible clearly shows
that Jesus’s statement to his Father about previously declaring his name was
true.The question remains, when did
Jesus make the same declaration after his arrest?After all, Jesus promised the Father, “And will declare it” (Jn
17:26).The Bible records no such
event.Even when his accusers asked
Jesus if he was the Christ, the Savior only answered, “Thou hast said” (Matt 26:64).

David revealed that the Savior would
declare his name through the standard of Joseph.In his prophecy concerning the Savior’s passion, he expressed our
Lord’s plea: “Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the
horns of the unicorns.I will declare
thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee”
(Ps 21-22).The symbol of a lion is the
standard for Judah.The Father saved
the Son from his Jewish tormenters by hearing his declaration through the horns
of unicorns.The unicorn, the King
James rendering of the Hebrew word for wild bull, is the symbol for the
house of Joseph.In his blessing on the
tribes of Israel, Moses said of the tribe of Joseph, “His glory is like the
firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with
them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are
the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh” (Deut
33:17).The tribe of Joseph was divided
into two tribes according to the two sons of Joseph.Ephraim and Manasseh were numbered as tribes in Israel.They are the two horns that gather
latter-day Israel to their land of inheritance.By combining Moses’ blessings with David’s prophecy, the Bible
shows that Jesus would declare his name through the standard of Joseph at the
time that God gathers latter-day Israel.

The Book of Mormon states that
shortly after his resurrection Jesus descended to the Jewish nation that had
migrated to Central America.According
to the account, his first words to those people were, “Behold I am Jesus Christ”
(3 N 5:11).When Jesus identified
himself as the Christ to America’s ancient inhabitants, he fulfilled the
promise he made to the Father to declare his name sometime after his prayer in
the Garden of Gethsemane.His
declaration that is recorded by descendants of Manasseh and which sprang out of
the earth in the last days as God began gathering Israel also fulfills the
prophecy that the Savior would declare his name through the standard of Joseph.

The King James Bible, or record of
Judah, was produced by England.The
Book of Mormon, or record of Joseph, was printed in America.England and America are two different
nations, each with two specific sacred records.Those who maintain that the two sticks must refer to nations or
standards around which people may rally find fulfillment in America and
England, publishers of the Bible and Book of Mormon.Either interpretation of Ezekiel points the believer to the Bible
and Book of Mormon as instruments that when joined together in the hand of
Ephraim help gather latter-day Israel.

The Savior’s visit to Jews settled
in Central America fulfills another promise that Jesus made.John records him as saying, “Other sheep I
have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear
my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (Jn 10:16).Book of Mormon critics maintain that the
“other sheep” mentioned by Jesus refers to the Gentiles who eventually heard
and obeyed the gospel when the apostles preached it throughout the Old
World.While the Gentile nations heard
the apostles’ voice, they did not hear the Savior’s.Jesus said that the other sheep to which he referred “shall hear
my voice.”Jesus never visited or spoke
to a Gentile nation.He even refused to
visit one that invited him.King Abgar,
Toparch of Edessa, heard about Jesus and the mistreatment he suffered under the
hands of the Jews and invited him to come to his kingdom where the Savior could
receive the respect and recognition that he deserved.Jesus refused.In his reply
he stated, “As to your request that I should come to you, I must complete all
that I was sent to do here, and on completing it must at once be taken up to
the One who sent me.When I have been
taken up I will send you one of my disciples to cure your disorder and bring
life to you and those with you.”[iv]Jesus never visited a Gentile nation or personally spoke to its
citizens.The Savior even refused to
receive a Gentile in need of his ministry.He explained by saying, “ I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the
house of Israel” (Matt 15:24).The only
nations to which Jesus came were Hebrew nations and the only peoples who
personally heard his voice preach the gospel were Israelites.Jesus confined his personal ministry to
them.This means that the “other sheep”
who Jesus promised would hear his voice must be Israelites.His appearance among Jews settled in ancient
America fulfills the Savior’s promise in a more literal sense than the
interpretation by Book of Mormon critics does and retains better harmony with
Biblical passages.

Isaiah explained that the book he
prophesied to come forth will appear before Lebanon returns to its ancient
fertility.He said, “Is it not yet a
very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the
fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes
of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness” (Is 29:17-18).For centuries Lebanon, the country whose
fertility provided abundant materials for Solomon’s Temple, lay desolate.It regained its fruitfulness in the
mid-nineteenth century, just before Jews began returning to their land of
inheritance.Lebanon’s restored
fertility that happened over a century ago indicates that the sealed book must
have been revealed about the same time.The Book of Mormon is the only book that can possibly fulfill Isaiah’s
prophecy.Its appearance marked, among
other things, the restoration of spiritual gifts as enjoyed by ancient Christians
under the ministry of the apostles.Devout men and women experienced visions, prophecies, healings, tongues,
and interpretation of tongues that bolstered their faith and enlightened their
minds.David predicted these spiritual
manifestations when he prophesied that righteousness would come down from
heaven at the same time that truth sprang from the earth.The divine light attending the Book of
Mormon fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy that people deaf and blind to spiritual
matters would “see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.”

The Bible predicts the appearance of
a book that springs from the earth.It
is written on tablets by people from Jerusalem who, at times, speak directly to
modern readers.The book is a record of
Joseph and is delivered to both an educated man and an unlearned one.It is revealed before Lebanon returns to is
ancient fertility and is attended with divine manifestations.The only candidate fulfilling all these
predictions is the Book of Mormon.